Thinning, Gathering, Keeping, and Marketing. 109 



be collected with a fruit-gatherer attached to the end of a pole. 

 These are all figured and described in the chapter on Implements. 

 Baskets are commonly employed furnished with hooks for suspend- 

 ing to the limbs or rounds of the ladder while filling. In picking, 

 apples should be lifted up to break off the stem, instead of pulling 

 them off, as many of the stems will pull out of the apples, causing 

 decay. They should be laid in the basket (instead of being pitched 

 or dropped in) to avoid bruising. A better way is to buckle a strap 

 passing over the shoulder and beneath the arm, to which the basket 

 may be hooked, leaving both hands free for work. These baskets 

 should be round, so as to be small enough to allow turning for 

 emptying while in the barrel, that the fruit may fall as short a dis- 

 tance as possible. Another mode is to wear a coat, made for the 

 purpose, of strong canvas, furnished with large pockets on both 

 sides, holding a peck or more each. The coat is slipped off and the 

 pockets emptied into large bask- 

 ets or barrels. A better and more 

 expeditious method, is to take a 

 common clean grain bag and place 

 a stick, sharpened at each end and 

 about a foot long, so as to prop 

 the mouth open, leaving a trian- 

 gular opening, ready for the re- 

 ception of apples as fast as picked 

 by both hands. Tie the upper 

 and lower corner together, by 

 placing a pebble in the lower cor- 



ner, so as to form a knob or but- 

 ton, and then tie the bag strings 

 closely above it. It is then slung 

 over the shoulder, as shown in 

 Fig. 157. A piece of stiff leather 

 buttoned on the shoulder serves 

 to protect it from the weight of 

 the bag. When the bag is filled 

 it is placed in the bottom of the 

 barrel or basket, and emptied by 

 carefully withdrawing the bag and 

 allowing the apples to slide out Ff g . 1S7> 



without danger of bruising. In 



this respect it is more perfect than a basket, the contents of which 

 must be dropped, unless handed out one by one. 



